The Mentor
by missnewvillage
Summary: After Marley faints at Sectionals, Santana visits her in the hospital and gives her advice.


The Mentor

_Beep_

_Beep_

_Beep_

The constant ringing of the heart monitor was the first thing Marley heard. She opened her eyes but quickly closed them again. The brightness of the hospital lights burned her retinas. She groaned out as she felt her head ache in pain.

A chair scuffed and Marley heard someone get up. "Marley? Are you awake, sweetie?" Marley recognized the voice as Santana's. _What is she doing here? _

Santana's hand grabbed Marley's. "Marley, honey. If you're awake please open your eyes," Santana said in a gentle tone. Marley couldn't think of a time when Santana spoke that gently in the short time that she knew her. Curious as to why Santana sounded this way, Marley slowly opened her eyes.

Santana exhaled in relief when she saw brown eyes looking at her. She squeezed Marley's hand. "Gosh, you scared me."

Marley looked at Santana curiously. "What are you talking about," she asked before taking in her surroundings. "Where am I," she asked worriedly.

"Shh. It's alright," Santana murmured reassuringly. "We're in a hospital - Lima General to be specific. What's the last thing you remember?"

Marley thought back. "Um. I remember being really nervous backstage. I was really tired and I didn't feel well," Marley explained.

"What did you feel," Santana asked softly.

"My, uh, hands were shaking. My body felt like it was in a sauna. I was sweating so much, and I hadn't even started dancing," Marley explained.

Santana nodded. "Do you remember performing?"

Marley nodded. "I remember we did Gangnam Style. But towards the end I felt really light headed. My vision was fuzzy and I couldn't hear clearly. I don't remember the ending of the performance though. What happened?"

"You fainted." Marley gasped at Santana's words.

"I'm going to ask you something and I need you to be completely honest with me, okay? And I'll know if you're lying."

Marley nodded. "I promise I will be honest. What's your question?"

"Have you been starving yourself?"

Marley gulped and her eyes widened in fear. She didn't think anyone would figure out that she was not eating anything. She didn't want to admit that to anyone.

Santana saw Marley's hesitance. "I know the truth, Marley. Please just be honest with me"

Marley hung her head low and nodded. "Yes, I starved myself," she whispered so low that Santana almost didn't hear it.

Santana brought her index finger to Marley's chin and lifted the girl's head up. "Hey," she cooed out. "Look at me, sweetie. Thank you for telling me the truth. Can you tell me why you did that?"

Marley tried to look down but Santana kept her grip on the girl's chin. "Um. Well during Grease rehearsals my costume wouldn't fit. It just kept getting tighter. So Kitty suggested that I, uh, purge myself. I did that up until opening night, but Ryder caught me and asked me to stop." Marley hesitated in telling Santana the rest. Santana noticed this.

"It's okay. You're doing great. Keep going," she said encouragingly.

Marley nodded. "After Grease I still felt fat, so Kitty gave me laxatives. I used them up until the day you found them in my bag. After that I didn't know what else I could do to try and lose the weight. So I stopped eating completely this entire week. I was going to stop after sectionals, I swear. It's just, I dreamed of one day being on that stage. And I didn't want to let anyone down."

"I understand completely," Santana said. "Kitty is an evil bitch. I'm pretty sure the only reason she is playing with your insecurities is because she's jealous of you. You're so much better than her, and she's threatened by you. If she's anything like Quinn, and I'm pretty sure she is, she would do anything to make sure she's on top."

"How do you know that," Marley asked.

Santana scoffed. "Please. You and Kitty are like Quinn and I. We always fought each other for the top spot. Junior year I was head cheerleader and captain of the cheerios. Quinn lost all her baby fat and decided to rejoin the cheerios. But what did she do to get in? She told coach that I got a boob job."

Marley gasped. "You got a boob job," she asked and looked down towards Santana's chest.

"Hey," Santana said, snapping her fingers in front of Marley's face. "My eyes are up here. But yes. I did get a boob job."

"But why? You're so beautiful. I saw the old glee club picture of the New Directions. You looked amazing. You were definitely the prettiest girl in the club."

"I could say the same thing about you. But I was just as insecure as you are. I was confused about my sexuality. I was hurt that Puck cheated on me with Quinn and I wanted Brittany's attention. Yes, I probably didn't need to get a boob job, but I had such low self esteem that I thought I did."

Santana sighed out before grabbing both of Marley's hands. "You, Marley Rose, are a beautiful young woman. You are so talented, and you are going to be a famous singer one day. Believe in yourself because you have everything you need to succeed. Don't let any bitch tell you otherwise, especially ones named after animals."

Marley chuckled at that comment. "Why are you being nice to me," Marley questioned.

"You're not annoying like the rest of the glee club. You remind me of myself when I was your age. And I'm your mentor. What kind would I be if I didn't care?"

Marley looked at Santana appreciatively. "Thank you so much, Santana," she said and threw her arms around the older girl.

"Now, are you going to stop harming yourself," Santana asked.

"Yes. I'm going to take care of myself I promise," she told Santana.

"Good, and do it for you. Not for anybody else"

Marley nodded. "You know, you're not as mean as everyone says you are."

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't get on my bad side. I bitch slapped Fabray in the choir room yesterday so I'm still badass."

"But didn't she slap you first?"

Santana laughed. "Technicality. I'm going to get your doctor before you say anything else that'll make me regret being nice to you."

Marley rolled her eyes as Santana exited the room. She was happy that the Latina had cared enough about her to share her experience with her own insecurities. And now because of Santana she had hope that she would be able to fully love herself and accomplish her dreams.

* * *

**AN: Just a quick oneshot because I love Santana as a caring mentor. Hope you enjoyed it.**

**For those of you who read my Pezberry oneshot titled So Emotional, I have decided to make it into a multi-chapter story. I've written the prologue and (a very small) part of chapter 1. Once my semester finishes at the end of the month and I have more time to write I'll post it. **


End file.
